Oslo gets new beer cultural centre

Tourists, residents and incentive groups visiting the city will be taken on a journey exploring the many varied tastes of beer.

Norway’s largest brewing company is investing NOK 30 million (€3.2 million) in a brewery and beer-culture centre, opening this month in the place where the first Ringnes beer was tapped more than 140 years ago.

The aim at The Brewhouse is to share knowledge about beer with Oslo’s visitors and residents in historical surroundings in Grünerløkka, a kilometre or so north of the city centre, and could be a new destination for, for example, incentive groups.

“Guests will taste a lot of exciting beer here, from Ringnes but also from other guest breweries. They will also get the opportunity to learn about the beer’s history and the importance of the brewery that the two brothers Ellef and Amund Ringnes started at Grünerløkka in 1876,” Ringnes CEO Anders Røed tells Norway Today.

The centre’s “beer hosts” are being specially trained and tours will teach guests to recognise the tastes in different types of beers.

They will learn to specify what they like or don’t like about a particular pilsner, buckwheat ale or Indian pale ale, and in realising this they will have a much greater chance of finding a beer they like next time they order one, Røed assures.

“There are so many different varieties, even within the same type of beer. This is beer knowledge in practice, explained in a simple way.”

Guest breweries
The Brewhouse will be serving sandwiches with the beer, as “beer and bread are made from the same basic ingredients,” Røed adds. “We work with different raw materials and ingredients in both the beer and the sandwiches to create exciting combinations and variations.”

The venue wants to give other breweries a place in the spotlight too, perhaps even combining them with a Ringnes brew to “develop a unique cooperative beer to be enjoyed while you are informed a bit about the guest brewery,” says Røed.

“It is important to showcase not only Ringnes but also other breweries’ expertise, beers and history.”